Futur Simple: Formation and Use in French

Getting Started

The futur simple is how French says what will happen: tomorrow, next year, or in a promise. English puts “will” in front of every future, but French has two ways to talk about it. You already know one: futur proche (aller + infinitive), je vais partir (I’m going to leave). This lesson teaches the second: futur simple, je partirai (I will leave).

The difference matters. Futur proche is for something near or already planned; futur simple is the ordinary future of writing, promises and decisions. In the TEF or TCF expression écrite, an examiner expects futur simple when you write about plans and commitments.

The one question: is the future after si, or not? After si, the present (si tu viens). Everywhere else a future is meant, the futur, including after quand (quand tu viendras).

By the end you can:

• form the futur simple of any regular verb and the ~20 common irregulars;
• use it for plans, promises and predictions;
• get the two traps right: the present after si, the futur after quand.

1 Formation: infinitive + endings

This one rule unlocks both the futur simple and the conditionnel: for regular verbs, the stem is the whole infinitive. Then add these endings, which look like the present of avoir (ai, as, a, ons, ez, ont):

Person	Ending	parler	finir	vendre
je	-ai	je parlerai	je finirai	je vendrai
tu	-as	tu parleras	tu finiras	tu vendras
il / elle / on	-a	il parlera	elle finira	on vendra
nous	-ons	nous parlerons	nous finirons	nous vendrons
vous	-ez	vous parlerez	vous finirez	vous vendrez
ils / elles	-ont	ils parleront	elles finiront	elles vendront

The endings are the same for all three groups (-ER, -IR, -RE).

-RE verbs drop the final -e

• vendre → vendr- + ai = je vendrai (I will sell)
• répondre → répondr- + as = tu répondras (you will answer)
• prendre → prendr- + a = il prendra (he will take)

-ER and -IR verbs keep the whole infinitive.

-ER verbs that change their spelling

Some -er verbs change their spelling in the futur just as they do in the present, and the change holds for every person:

• acheter → j’achèterai (è)
• appeler → j’appellerai (double l)
• payer → je paierai (or je payerai; both are correct)
• nettoyer → je nettoierai (y becomes i)

2 Irregular stems: learn these by heart

About 20 common verbs have an irregular stem. The endings stay the same; only the stem changes:

Infinitive	Stem	Example	English
aller	ir-	j’irai	I will go
avoir	aur-	j’aurai	I will have
être	ser-	je serai	I will be
faire	fer-	je ferai	I will do / make
pouvoir	pourr-	je pourrai	I will be able
vouloir	voudr-	je voudrai	I will want
devoir	devr-	je devrai	I will have to
savoir	saur-	je saurai	I will know
voir	verr-	je verrai	I will see
tenir	tiendr-	je tiendrai	I will hold
venir	viendr-	je viendrai	I will come
envoyer	enverr-	j’enverrai	I will send
mourir	mourr-	je mourrai	I will die
courir	courr-	je courrai	I will run
recevoir	recevr-	je recevrai	I will receive
valoir	vaudr-	il vaudra	it will be worth
falloir	faudr-	il faudra	it will be necessary
pleuvoir	pleuvr-	il pleuvra	it will rain
acquérir	acquerr-	j’acquerrai	I will acquire

Learn them as infinitive → stem pairs; no rule predicts them. Compounds keep the same stem: revenir → je reviendrai (I will come back), devenir → je deviendrai, obtenir → j’obtiendrai.

3 Use: the formal or written future

Futur simple is the future of letters, formal writing and the news:

• Je vous enverrai le rapport demain. (I will send you the report tomorrow.)
• L’année prochaine, nous partirons en Italie. (Next year, we will leave for Italy.)
• Les prix augmenteront en janvier. (Prices will rise in January.)

4 Use: promises and decisions

When you commit to something or state a firm decision:

• Je t’aiderai. (I will help you.)
• Tu verras, ça fonctionnera. (You’ll see, it will work.)
• Elle arrivera lundi. Nous prendrons un café, puis elle me parlera de son voyage. (She will arrive on Monday. We will have a coffee, then she will tell me about her trip.)

5 Use: si + present, then futur

When the condition is about now and the result is in the future: present after si, futur in the result:

• Si tu étudies, tu réussiras. (If you study, you will succeed.)
• S’il pleut, nous resterons à la maison. (If it rains, we will stay home.)

English agrees here (“if you study”, not “if you will study”), so the trap comes from translating “will” too eagerly: never si tu étudieras. This is the first of three si patterns; the other two are in the conditionnel lesson.

6 Use: futur after quand, lorsque, dès que

Here French and English part ways. When quand (when), lorsque (when) or dès que (as soon as) refer to the future, the futur follows them too:

• Quand je serai au Canada, je chercherai un emploi. (When I am in Canada, I will look for a job.)
• Je t’appellerai dès que j’arriverai. (I’ll call you as soon as I arrive.)

English says “when I am”, so learners write Quand je suis au Canada, je chercherai…, which is wrong. The test: if you could add “in the future” to the quand clause, use the futur.

7 Futur simple vs futur proche

Aspect	Futur simple	Futur proche
Time	General, distant or formal	Near, certain, planned
Register	Writing, promises, news	Conversation, everyday
Example	Je partirai l’année prochaine.	Je vais partir demain.
In conversation	Less common, for promises	Very common
In writing and exams	Expected	Less formal

Both are correct. In TEF/TCF writing, use futur simple for your main plans; futur proche is fine for something close and certain along the way.

Common Mistakes

❌ Wrong	✅ Right	Why
Si tu viendras, je serai content.	Si tu viens, je serai content.	Present after si
Quand je suis au Canada, je travaillerai.	Quand je serai au Canada, je travaillerai.	quand + future: futur
j’allerai	j’irai	The stem of aller is ir-
je vendreai	je vendrai	-re drops its -e
j’acheterai	j’achèterai	acheter takes è
Promis, je parlerais à ton patron demain.	Promis, je parlerai à ton patron demain.	-ais is the conditionnel; a firm promise takes the futur -ai

Practice

Write the correct form of the verb in brackets.

Answers

1. réussirez · 2. irai (stem ir-) · 3. verrons (stem verr-) · 4. devra (stem devr-) · 5. fait / sortirons (present after si) · 6. appellerai / arriverai (double l; futur after dès que)

Your Turn: Your First Year in Canada

Write five sentences in French about your first year in Canada. Use quand at least once, si at least once, and at least one irregular stem (ir-, ser-, aur-, fer-, pourr-). Then check: is there a present after si? Is there a futur after quand?

A model answer

Quand j’arriverai à Toronto, je chercherai un appartement près de mon travail. Je serai un peu stressé au début, mais mes cousins m’aideront. Si je trouve un emploi rapidement, j’achèterai une voiture avant l’hiver. Le soir, je suivrai des cours de français. Dans un an, je pourrai passer le TEF Canada.

Summary

Rule	Example
Regular = infinitive + endings	parler → je parlerai, tu parleras…
-RE drops its final -e	vendre → je vendrai
Irregular stems are fixed	aller → irai, avoir → aurai, être → serai…
Endings are always -ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont	the same for every verb
si + present → futur	Si tu viens, je serai content.
quand + futur → futur	Quand tu viendras, je serai content.

What’s Next

• Practice: futur simple formstype the regular endings and irregular stems until they stick.
• Futur proche (aller + infinitive)the other way to talk about the future.
• Conditionnelthe same stems, with the imparfait endings.
• Vouloir, pouvoir, devoirall three have irregular futur stems.
• Futur antérieurquand j’aurai fini, a future action completed before another.